Aberffraw

Aberffraw is the setting chosen for the marriage of Branwen, daughter of Llyr, to Matholwch, king of Ireland. Its decisive place in the narrative is as the venue for a politically significant wedding feast, where the proposed alliance between their realms becomes a marriage.

Selection as the Wedding Site

After Matholwch arrived as a suitor, the court agreed to give Branwen to him and selected Aberffraw as the place where she would become his bride. The two parties travelled there by different routes: Matholwch and his host came by ship, while Bendigeid Fran and his host travelled overland. The choice gave the marriage a shared setting for both visiting and local hosts.

The Feast and Marriage

The wedding gathering took place beneath tents rather than inside a hall; no house could contain Bendigeid Fran. At the banquet, Bendigeid Fran and Manawyddan sat on one side, with Matholwch and Branwen beside him on the other. The guests ate, drank, and talked until they went to rest, and Branwen became Matholwch’s bride that night.

Place in the Narrative

The wedding at Aberffraw gives concrete form to the alliance proposed by Matholwch’s embassy: the union was meant to bind Ireland and the Island of the Mighty and make both more powerful. The following day, the court’s officers arranged horses and attendants in order as far as the sea. The account thus moves from the marriage feast toward the journey onward, while Aberffraw remains the site where the alliance was solemnized.